Dizzy
by zenonaa
Summary: "Did Mai know how hypocritical she sounded? It wasn't like she brought friends with her. Even if she liked being alone, he knew she hated feeling lonely. This was her way of inviting someone to spend time with her without seeming needy, and Jonouchi didn't like the idea of receiving the short straw in this offer of companionship." Polarshipping


Jonouchi was never much of a carnival goer. A sense of bitterness built in his throat whenever he passed the open field and saw it in use, machinery and caravans making the area their temporary home. He never brought up its presence to his friends, letting them be the ones to discover its arrival. Them be the ones to organise an outing. Because when they entered the location, eyes shining like the neon signs surrounding them, he was reminded of how empty his wallet was. Everyone pitched in but he always inputted the least money.

No one commented. No one needed to. He only allowed himself to have fun because he planned on making it up to them one day.

That, and no one could ever pay enough money to ram their bumper car into the side of Honda's.

So Jonouchi had no excuse for turning up at a traveling carnival with no company. Not like he had much of a choice. Anzu and Otogi were in America, the former attending a dance school and the other promoting Dungeon Dice Monsters. Yugi left to travel who-knows-where with Ryou a month ago. Even Honda was busy, away visiting family. All Jonouchi had with him was some cash he earned looking after Honda's dog and helping around the Kame Game Shop. Only enough to get him on a ride or two and maybe a hotdog. Not that he intended to go all out and have fun. Nostalgia drew him there. Everybody else had something to do. Goals. Purpose.

Him?

He spat as he entered the premises, hands stuffed into his jacket pockets. Stopped to admire the exaggerated anatomy of a woman painted on the back of a ride that rotated benches against it. Two children scurried past, just missing him, laughing and pointing at a ride they were too short for as a man hobbled after them. Jonouchi shook his head and ventured deeper into the carnival. Each section battled it out with their own upbeat music and blinding lights.

Sniffing, he scanned the area with his back arched. Elbows jutted outwards as he wandered aimlessly until something- anything- caught his attention. Well. Anything, so long as it entertained him. Gave him enough to do.

Jonouchi staggered to a stop. There. Bumper cars. Taking up so much room it would be hard to miss.

He peered in. People were standing up and stepping out, boasting to their friends and steering imaginary wheels. Others entered the arena, waving at friends as they chose their vehicles. Jonouchi clenched his wallet and strode to the adjoined small hut, slamming the necessary number of coins onto the desk. As soon as the bored teenager behind the glass pushed a token towards him, scraping it across the wooden counter, Jonouchi snatched it up and chose a black car decorated with silver specks. He inserted the token and sighed, resting his chin on his hands as he waited for the operator to give power to his car. Fingers drummed against the polyurethane steering wheel.

Jonouchi assured himself the wait would be worth it. As much as he liked danger, he never cared much for rides that spun him around at ridiculous speeds, or shoved fake decaying bodies in his face in the dark. They never gave him the rush this attraction did. The taste of victory. He hated being a sitting duck, preferring to be proactive.

"Are you ready? Make sure your tokens are in and get set to bash and crash," a loud voice boomed over the speakers. Jonouchi jumped in his seat, leaning forward and gripping the steering wheel. Tapped his foot against the accelerator until music pounded his ears and his car jolted to life.

Chin almost resting on the steering wheel, he scoured the floor for his first victim. Laughter attracted his attention. He spotted a preteen male wearing a backwards cap, chasing a girl with pigtails who clearly hadn't done this before. Jonouchi plunged into the side of the boy's car. Whooped as the kid recollected himself, eyes hunting for the back of his attacker. Guffawed as he selected a guy with greasy hair and a bored girl hanging on his arm as his next target. The impact sent his victim's arms flailing, accidentally elbowing his companion in the face. He swore as Jonouchi sped away.

After brushing past several vehicles and ramming into three, Jonouchi heard a car pecking at the back of his. No problem. He would round the next corner, circle back, and land a blow.

He steered into the pigtailed girl's car, bumping but not slamming. The palm of his hands caressed the wheel as the edge of the floor approached. Jonouchi turned and headed towards the next corner before remembering his plan.

It didn't matter. Whoever was tailing him kept their car against his. Persistent. Creepy, but persistent. They had their chance to attack but decided not to, like they were contented enough just stalking him.

What if it was some old guy? Jonouchi shuddered and whipped his head around to check.

Nope. Just a woman a bit older than him. He faced forward.

Only to do a double take.

Widened his eyes at her familiar plum irises.

"Mai?"

She winked at him, flicking her head back. Jonouchi closed his mouth. Opened it again before thinking of what to say.

That was when he crashed into the short wall lining the floor. A whoosh of air escaped his mouth. Mai giggled before steering away.

"Mai!" Jonouchi stood up as the brat he struck first smashed into him, knocking his feet from underneath him and sending him sprawling onto the grass outside.

Cursing, Jonouchi sprung up and climbed back in, sitting down and reversing his car until he had room to maneuver. Face red, he searched for Mai amongst the loose circuit of vehicles. Talk about surprises: he hadn't seen her since Battle City. Of all the times and places to bump into her- pun not intended, it had to be then. Still, he couldn't stay mad. In fact, he felt rather the opposite. Afterall, it was Mai. His good pal.

A flash of purple crossed his line of sight, blond hair billowing out behind. Complementary to the colour of her ride. The ends of Jonouchi's mouth shot upwards. No mistaking it- it really was her. Pumped, he gave chase. He couldn't let her come and go without saying a proper hello.

Besides, no way was he allowing Mai to get away with a cheap shot like that. Without the element of surprise, he would have evaded her trick no problem.

Getting close to Mai proved easier said than done, each clear path towards her promptly being cut off by another car. Jonouchi soon decided to enjoy the rest of the game instead of actively pursuing her. That was how they crossed paths in the first place. And he wanted to make the money he spent worth it. He could catch up to her later.

Seven collisions and five narrow misses later, his car halted. Everybody started standing up but none before Jonouchi. He nearly rolled out in his haste, finding Mai before she left her vehicle.

"You're quite the racer," she said as she stepped out. "I saw you preying on all those children. It reminds me of myself back in Duelist Kingdom: seeking out the puniest in order to rise to the top."

"Eh? What was I supposed to do, drive around them? And I don't prey on the weak because they're weak- it's when they try to make others feel like them that I show 'em a thing or two."

"Whatever you say." She smiled. Glanced behind him, fingers pinching and adjusting the shoulders of her white midriff jacket. "Don't tell me you've come here alone. Where's the rest of your little group of friends?"

"Hey," he huffed as they exited the floor, "I have a life outside of them. And for your information, they're busy. Well, most of them are, anyway." He crossed his arms. "Seeing as you're here just like I am." Jonouchi raised his eyebrows and stopped walking. "Yeah, why are you here?"

"Oh, I was in the neighbourhood and saw a poster advertising this event. My social calendar was free for the rest of the evening so I thought I would investigate. And then what do you know, we happened to cross paths again." Mai looked past Jonouchi, lights dancing in her eyes. Her voice softened, hand shifting a lock of hair back. "I haven't been to one of these since I was a young girl." Her gaze fell, teeth biting her lower lip.

Someone screamed in the distance. Mai's attention snapped back to Jonouchi.

"It's sad seeing you by yourself. These kinds of places aren't best for loners. How about you hang around me?" She winked. "I'll take care of you."

Jonouchi's eyes flashed. "What's that supposed to mean?" Did Mai know how hypocritical she sounded? It wasn't like she brought friends with her. Even if she liked being alone, he knew she hated feeling lonely. This was her way of inviting someone to spend time with her without seeming needy, and Jonouchi didn't like the idea of receiving the short straw in this offer of companionship. "I ain't the kid I was back the last time we met. I don't need a babysitter."

"I never said I was going to babysit you." Mai snorted. "Like you said, you're not a kid anymore. I said I would take care of you. And I trust you would repay me in kind. That's what friends do, right?" She fluttered her eyelashes and flicked his chest with her finger. "Or am I missing something?"

If he didn't know her as well as he did, Jonouchi would have thought she was simply flirting with him. But he could see under all her makeup and banter, Mai was steeling herself for possible rejection. Her lipsticked smile didn't hide the crinkle between her eyebrows.

Jonouchi chuckled and jabbed his chest with his thumb. "If anyone's going to be taken care of, it's you. But I'm telling you now- I ain't mopping up no puke."

Mai's expression warmed. "Don't worry, I'm not intending to clean up after you either." She placed her hands onto her hips. "All right then, where do you want to go? I saw a haunted house earlier. Apparently it's based on a true, tragic tale. How about we head there? Unless you have something," her face creased as she grinned but this time in amusement, "tamer in mind."

Jonouchi's mouth twitched. "S-Sure, s'long as you don't scream in my ear."

Mai led him through the carnival, cupping her hand over his wrist. Crowds chattered and bustled. Screeches and yells blended into the constant music thumping from dozens of speakers. Mai showed no interest in light conversation as she navigated through streams of people, giving Jonouchi a chance to think. He didn't know what niggled at him most- the prospect of cheap horror or his emptier wallet.

In all the excitement, he had forgotten how much cash he brought with him. Jonouchi inwardly cringed at the thought of Mai discovering he was near enough broke, if she hadn't already. All his winnings from Duelist Kingdom paid for his sister's operation. Most of his earnings from odd jobs and part-time work ate at his father's increasing debts, leaving Jonouchi little leftover for living expenses. Despite spending as much time away from home as possible, a ball and chain connected him to their apartment.

Skin blurred in front of his straying gaze. Jonouchi blinked. The haze defined itself into Mai's hand.

"Don't tell me I'm boring you," she said. "We've still got a lot of catching up to do."

"Wha'?" Had she been speaking to him? For how long? His eyes skimmed up and down the 'haunted house' beside them. Looked like a shack. Might have passed for a house if not for the wonky lettering attached above the door on a board. 'House of Turmoil'. What genius came up with that? Wasn't surprising that the place had no visitors. "No, I just-! I guess I got lost in my own tho-"

"You've got to keep your wits about you. True terror exists inside your mind and the only way to kill it is with reality." Three metal steps led up to the attraction's entrance. Mai hauled Jonouchi along, having at some point slipped her hand from his wrist to his hand. He twisted his body towards the pay booth. She tugged. "I paid for the both of us while you were daydreaming."

"You did?" His chivalry levels plummeted. "You didn't have to."

"But I wanted to," she stuck out her chin, "so come on."

The door opened by itself. They entered, Jonouchi's jacket sleeve almost catching as the entrance sealed behind them. He squinted but the darkness rendered him temporarily blind. Mai's elbow brushed against his.

**"Welcome, guests, to the home of the late Master Pandora: stage magician. The uncertainty to his true demise has sparked many a debate. Some say he simply vanished into obscurity after an escape trick blew up in his face... literally. Others claim he met his end with a buzzsaw during a private show. Then there are those who think he lost his mind to the darkness and was devoured whole. His body was never found but he lives on, those not joining his army claiming to have spotted a shadowy figure in the corner of their eye upon venturing into his domain. Perhaps he will visit you and impart the truth... and perhaps he will allow you to leave with this newfound knowledge. Tread carefully, mortals."**

"What a load of crap," Jonouchi remarked as ground lights lit the path red, tinting the bottom of the walls either side scarlet. He puffed out his chest and swaggered forward, Mai four paces behind. "You stay behind me." He watched her cross her arms and roll her eyes from over his shoulder. "Don't worry. With me to protect you, there's nothin' to be-" He whipped his head around. Hollow eye sockets exploded with white light an inch from his face. "Ack!" He recoiled and dodged behind Mai, having almost pressed lips with a skeleton shackled to the end of the passageway.

Mai giggled, advancing towards it with her hand out. She prodded the skeleton's forehead with a finger. "Relax. It's only plastic. Hm? What's this?" She leaned forward. Jonouchi grimaced. "There's a piece of paper in its rib bones. 'Victim Two: bathed in acid. Body too decomposed to identify. Speculated to be the result of an unsuccessful escape trick.' How cute... and bizarre. Did we miss one on the way in?"

She turned. Jonouchi turned soon after. He coughed. "I... didn't see anything."

"Hm, oh well." Jonouchi faced her again, recomposed. Mai bared her teeth into a grin. "Walk behind me. I won't let any more Halloween decorations frighten you."

"I ain't scared. I was... just startled, is all." But he obeyed. In case something jumped out from the rear.

They proceeded around the corner, hands traveling across the misshapen walls. Mai smirked. "If I was in charge of the architecture, I would make the walls wet. This place needs to be more subtle with its horrors."

Alas, she wasn't its interior decorator. Jonouchi sighed in relief.

The next passageway contained fog that reached Mai's hips, ground lights dimmed and blue. Halfway down, a headless body attached to the ceiling with string fell into their path. Mai snorted as a recording of a woman wailing echoed, a spotlight centring on the pretend corpse. "This attraction is so American." She peered at the label on its chest. Red stained the shoulders of its swan-like dress. "'Victim Three: suffocation. Speculated to be the result of a flying illusion gone wrong.'" Mai fiddled with the knot digging into the dummy's neck. "What, did they fly her around with a noose?"

Jonouchi exhaled. When Mai turned around, he straightened up and scratched the back of his head. "You're completely right." His expression remained stoic. "I've seen worse things in Honda's underwear dra-"

The fake body ascended into fog.

"... This is boring and cutting into time we could be having elsewhere." Jonouchi grabbed Mai's shoulders and spun her around one hundred and eighty degrees. "Let's get this over with. There can't be too much left."

He pushed Mai along until she yanked her body out of his clutch and marched away, nose aimed upwards. She sniffed. "Thanks, but I can walk by myself."

They reached a staircase. Jonouchi slumped. Seriously? Another floor? Mai didn't break stride as she disappeared into darkness, Jonouchi close behind.

Clicking greeted their ears.

Mai froze.

"What's the hold up?" he asked. "It's just a soundbyte of bug noises. They like dark places."

"Shut up," she snapped, continuing upwards. With each step around the spiraling staircase, the noises increased in volume and Mai slowed down slightly. She almost stopped by the time they reached the top, Jonouchi gazing up at her. Hesitating, she released the stair railing and stepped into red illumination.

Jonouchi never heard her scream so loudly.

Bugs. Wiggling on the walls, never straying from their spot. Dangling from above through steel grating, ceiling lights revealing many more up there. Bumps in the floor painted and shaped into insects. A chorus of chirping and clicks plagued their eardrums.

He burst in and wrapped an arm around her, leading them across the hallway. Past the fake body covered in bugs and rough holes. Around the corner and into the next area. Wooden puppets with scraggly blonde hair sat upon shelves, monochrome eyes staring. Cheeks painted with an unequal amount of red blush. Eyelashes like spiders. Mai fell silent but kept her head bowed, face obscured by her hands and hair. A simple piano lullaby played, failing to block out the sounds of the previous section.

Jonouchi scuffed the oval rug as he stepped forward. "There!" On the other side of the room was a circular opening in the wall. He escorted Mai towards it, arm slung over her shoulders. They reached an armchair with a human-sized puppet sitting on it. He paused, glancing over its peeling black painted-on hair and shabby white suit. Spotted the label stapled onto its red shirt. "'Victim Five: the magician himself.'"

He looked up at the female puppets again. Must have been half a dozen against each wall, legs dangling. All wearing the same creepy smile.

Mai, no longer shivering and doubled over, regarded the room. Kept her face directed away from Jonouchi as she stroked a puppet's cheek. "Victim One."

Jonouchi blinked. Approached Mai, eyeing the puppet in her hand. Each one, disregarding the large male on the armchair, had a red 'one' lazily painted onto their right cheek. He hadn't paid much attention before, having dismissed it for either a lousy paint job or a production error the owners were too lazy to correct.

"Jonouchi." Mai didn't look at him.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go."

The opening in the wall turned out to be the entrance to a slide. Mai descended first without a word. When Jonouchi emerged headfirst at the bottom, face greeted by cool air, he saw Mai leaning over metal fencing with her arms rested on its top. Backs of her legs tinged pink due to friction against the slide. Jonouchi scolded himself for looking.

He stood by her side and joined her in surveying the rest of the carnival from their little corner.

"I'm sorry about what happened," Mai finally said. "It brought back bad memories of Battle City. From my duel with... him." She looked down. "I lied earlier about just passing by, and this whole meeting being purely coincidental. I returned to Domino because I missed all of you, and I thought I could find you in a place like this. On a friends night out. And if I didn't," she chuckled, "then maybe I could entertain myself. But... I'm so glad I bumped into you. More than you know."

Jonouchi gulped, the memory of her semifinal duel resurfacing from where he kept it hidden deep in his mind. "Don't be sorry. Anyone who'd been through what you did woulda had the same reaction. Probably worse, even. We're not all made of strong stuff like you are. And you know what? I'm real glad you bumped into me too." Flashing lights caught his eye. He pointed. "Hey, how about we go on The Tilt-A-Whirl? Sounds like a bit of mindless fun. But remember what I said about cleaning up your puke. I meant it."

Mai smiled. "You should be more concerned about what I said about yours."

They passed the fencing and exited, pushing through the crowd forming around the haunted house. Jonouchi glowered at them until they reached their next ride.

The Tilt-A-Whirl was filling up. Mai paid before Jonouchi even thought to reach into his wallet. She took his hand and sat him down next to her in an empty car. After a minute, in which the balding man supervising the attraction brought down their metal safety bar, the ride came to life. At first they spun slowly and occasionally, car gliding over the uneven platform in a circular motion. But the twirls soon increased in frequency, directions of the spins unpredictable. Speed rising and swooping. Jonouchi's back pressed against his seat.

A sharp spin sent Mai sprawling into the side of him. She laughed as she almost fell into his lap, her hair tickling his face and neck. Jonouchi didn't say anything when she stayed right next to him, mentally cursing and thanking whoever stopped her from plunging onto his crotch.

The ride slowed two minutes later. Mai lifted the safety bar and stumbled out. Jonouchi rose, steadier, and the pair supported each other across the platform and down the steps leading out.

Time tumbled much like they did to and from rides and games. Next was The Zipper, a rotating long oval frame that flicked the attached riding pods over its short rounded edges. Then a duck pond game, where Jonouchi won Mai a teddy with wonky limbs. Mai won a large bug-eyed duck toy, which she gave to a reluctant, pouting Jonouchi. After that The Orbiter, its spinning mechanical arms tilting their car at a right angle as they whirled in a blur of red and blue lights.

At the mini-arcade, Mai bought tokens and shared them with him. When Jonouchi ran out of tokens with nothing but a fluffy dog from a crane game, which Mai told him to give to Shizuka, to show for his success, he watched over Mai's shoulder as she used hers on slot machines. She didn't win anything other than more tokens, but they had a lot of fun yelling at each other about which rituals she should perform that would increase her chances of success.

Around them, rides faded into the night and stalls closed. But not before Mai bought Jonouchi a hotdog and herself candyfloss. He returned his wallet to his pocket as she stuffed their prizes into the bag the dog toy came in, pulling the end of the ribbon glued to its opening through a buttonhole in her jacket and knotting it. Other than his go on the bumper cars and one duck pond game, Mai had paid for everything.

"I'll make it up to you," he promised. "It, might, uh, take me awhile but I'll give back every yen."

"I won't let you," Mai said, licking at her treat. "I don't accept charity."

"But- wait, what?" Jonouchi nearly dropped his hotdog. "Charity? How is it charity? You paid for practically everything. It ain't fair on you."

She blew out of her nose. "And how well spent would my money have been tonight if you weren't around, huh? I haven't had this much fun in a long time." Her fingers hooked through the gaps between his and squeezed. "Real, genuine fun."

"But-"

She tapped him on the nose with her stick of candy floss. "Listen, it's no big deal. Really. You would have been able to go on thousands of rides with the prize money you won in Duelist Kingdom. But it all went towards something else- making someone you love happy. And that's the best way to spend it, right?"

"R-Right." Jonouchi smiled. "So... uh... Mai. You busy tomorrow night?"


End file.
